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W. WINSON. STEAM TRAR APPLICATION FILED APR.25| I919- 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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W. WINSON. STEAM TRAP. APPLICATION FILED APR. 25. 1919.

Patented June 17', 1919.

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STEAM-TRAP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 17, 1919.

/ Application filed April 25, 1919. Serial No. 292,645.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM Wmsou, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at 2 Milford View, Milford, in the county of Derby, England, have invented new and useful Improvements in Steam-Traps, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in steam traps in which a balanced 'waterves sel is employed to open and close a discharge valve as the height or weightof the water in said vessel varies, the object of said improvements being to use only a small quantity of the water to be discharged, in the balanced vessel which maytherefore be of small size, and to admit of ready access to all the parts for convenience of examination and repairs.

Referring to the drawings which form a part of this specification Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of an apparatus constructed according to my invention.

Fig. 2 is a similar view to Fig. 1 showing the application of my invention to an apparatus in which flexible tubes are used instead'of hollow spindles and glands.

Fig. 3 is a plan of the apparatus illustrated on Fig. 2.

In carrying out the application of my invention illustrated on Fig. 1 I provide a vessel a in which the condensed water is collected, having a hollow spindle c at the top and another (Z at the bottom working freely through glands e and f carried by any suitable framing g, the latter may also carry guide rods or the like it to facilitate vertical movement of the water vessel 0.; the hollow spindle 0 at the top of the latter serves the purpose of admitting steam thereto from the range of pipes, to preserve the balance between the water in the vessel a and that in a stationary collecting vessel not shown upon Fig. 1, the inlet pipe being curved upward at 0 so that the steam impact shall not be expended in a downward direction. The outlet cl from the bottom of the vessel a leads to a valve 9' controlled by a weighted lever 70 the unweighted end 70 being arranged to be operated by the water vessel on when it descends. The water enters the trap at point i from the stationary collecting vessel above mentioned.

To the top of the vessel a a wire rope or the like Z is secured which passes over a pulley m, said rope or the like being attached to a balance weight I) at its opposite end; this device may be duplicated if desired.

W'hen steam is first turned into the range and condensation is taking place very rapidly the vessel a fills with water and descends to the bottom position bearing upon the end 70 of the weight 10 the outlet valve j being then kept full open by the weight of the vessel a and the water within it until the water has run down to its minimum level at a, the vessel is then raised by theweight Z) and the weight 76 closes the valve and the trap is sealed; so preventing danger of burst pipes and joints through hammer action of water if the pipes are not rapidly cleared.

\Vhen the water vessel a is emptied to its minimum level a, is outbalanced by the weight 7 and has risen to its top position, it remains there until the collected water has risen to the maximum water level '11 again; the accumulated water now overbalancing the weight b and the action described above repeats itself automatically.

As the water in the vessel never descends below the minimum level there is always a seal of water between the steam in the vessel and the outlet valve, and steam cannot escape through the valve j.

The weight on lever 76 is regulated to lift at slightly over maximum pressure so that in the event of pressure rising above the maximum for which the pipes are designed the valve lifts and acts as a safety valve.

In some cases it may be desirable to use flexible tubes instead of hollow spindles 0 and cl an outside arrangement such as that illustrated on Figs. 2 and 3 would then be employed.

In the stationary vessel 0 for collecting the condensed water the dotted lines p and Q in dicate the maximum and minimum water levels respectively, 0 and s are upper and lower flexible tubes, 6 is a water vessel carried on one end of a lever to which is weighted at its opposite end w and adapted to open and close the valve w on the tube 2 leading from the bottom of the stationary vessel 0.

When the valve :1: is closed the accumulating water gradually fills the vessel 25 till its weight overcomes the weight 10 on the opposite end of the lever w and so the valve :0 is opened allowing the water to escape from the stationary vessel 0, the reverse operation taking place when the water in the vessel 0 lever 70, and outbalances has descended to its minimum level Q and the vessel t is emptied.

It is often an advantage to raise the water from the outlet to a higher level than the trap. This trap is so arranged that steam pressure in the vessel a will force the Water 2'feet higher than the outlet for every pound of steam pressure per square inch in said vessel. That is to say if there were 50 pounds steam pressure in the vessel it will 'enable the water to be delivered 100 feet above the level of the outlet from the trap.

am aware that it has previously been proposed in steam traps to employ a balanced water vessel, the weight of avliicli when filled with water above a given level is arranged to open a discharge valve and liberate the water until a normal level is reached, that the inlet and outlet pipes have been connected to said vessel, that in some cases such pipes have been flexible and I lay no broad claim to the use of such devices.

Having now described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure byLetters Patent is 1. In a steam trap, a weight balanced water vessel arranged for vertical movement and adapted to be placed in a steam line, a water inlet connected with the vessel at the bottom thereof, a valve controlling the Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each,

Washington, D; 0.

discharge of water from said vessel, a lever normally holding the valve closed and extending beneath the vessel and adapted to be actuated by the same in the downward Vmovement of the said vessel to open the valve, and a separate steam inlet at the top of the vessel to preserve the balance between the same and the system and adapted to cause a discharge of water from the vessel under pressure when the valve is opened.

2. In a steam trap, a stationary receptacle, a weight balanced vessel arranged for vertical movement, an inlet connected with the vessel at the bottom thereof and also with the said receptacle and adapted to permit water to flow from the receptacle into the vessel, a valve controlling the discharge of water from the said vessel, a lever normally holding the valve closed, and extending beneath the vessel and actuated by the downward movement thereof to open the valve, and a separate steam inlet at the top of the vessel to preserve the balance between the stationary receptacle and the said vessel and adapted to cause waterfrom the vessel to discharge under pressure when the valve is opened.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

I/VILLIAM WINSON.

by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, 

